By Ned Farquhar
Of the Journal
John McCain recently picked up several significant endorsements that could affect the Republican presidential primaries in New Hampshire and Iowa. The Boston Globe, the Des Moines Register, and Republicans for Environmental Protection supported him. Sen. Joe Lieberman's endorsement may carry special weight in New Hampshire, where independents can vote in the primary.
So this western senator, a maverick and self-designated "straight talker," might show some bounce starting in Iowa next week.
What's his record? What kind of president would he make?
First, McCain was wrong on the biggest issue facing the country. He heartily endorsed the Iraq war. Unlike the Afghan invasion, aimed at Osama bin Laden and his terrorist supporters in the Taliban, the Iraq invasion was based on bad facts, bad policy, bad politics and bad planning. It has caused vast unnecessary death and destruction, wasted our military might, and created doubt and enmity for America around the world.
Though McCain questioned brazen missteps in war strategy, he remains convinced that this war is good for America. He's confused. Containing Saddam was good for America, and it was working. National security and beating the terrorists are crucial. Misguided war that distracts us from real threats is not.
Further, a few months ago McCain was caught on video crooning a ditty about "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran."
Beach Boys' songs have an insidious way of getting in your head and staying there, and this had to be the worst, and potentially craziest, Beach Boys brain invasion ever. Maybe McCain has lost touch with the nation's military pulse and history.
The Americans who won World War I and World War II didn't regard civilian deaths, American or otherwise, as a joking matter. With his military legacy, coming from a military family, McCain should behave better.
Usually McCain approaches these issues with seriousness and care. He doesn't sound brassy and arrogant about war. Bomb Bomb Iran was outrageous, as are his whacks on the patriotism and thoughtfulness of people opposed to the Iraq war today.
Aside from his record on the Iraq war and Iran, McCain is often willing to represent the American mainstream, and America's world-leading conscience, on issues from torture to immigration to global warming to federal spending to campaign finance reform. He earned the label "maverick."
On immigration, McCain sponsored balanced, common-sense legislation including border security enhancements, penalties against employers, and a difficult but practical path to citizenship for the most committed among the 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants who now reside in our communities. They broke the law, but it would be insanity to try to catch and deport them all. McCain should speak out on the immigration issue and let his scurrilous opponents race to the bottom.
On torture, McCain has personal POW experience. He knows we legitimize unacceptable behavior when we ignore the Geneva Conventions. Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib are known and despised even by our closest allies. They are propaganda tools for those who hate us. McCain stands against practices that violate moral and conventional standards, and he has brought much of the Congress along with him.
On global warming, McCain was for years the strongest GOP voice calling for mandates to reduce climate-changing pollution. This year he backed off co-sponsorship of the main piece of global warming legislation. Yet he continues to be more vocal about the issue— a national and international imperative to protect the earth for future generations, according to scientists— than any other Republican candidate.
On campaign financing, McCain is at least trying to limit the money influencing American elections. Because the courts interpret campaign donations as free speech, the '08 presidential campaign will attract billions of dollars in contributions. Democracy to the highest bidder? Maybe not, if McCain is elected.
On spending, McCain opposed the lopsided Bush tax cuts that wasted a large projected federal surplus. The billions given back to the very wealthiest taxpayers could have set Social Security back on track. Embroiled in a GOP primary, McCain now supports the tax package he opposed. And Social Security faces an unnecessary long-term threat.
Being a maverick, he's a mixed bag. If he's nominated, he will be a formidable and unpredictable candidate who could reshape presidential politics and his own party. The West, the region he calls home, could make the difference.
Ned Farquhar, a former senior adviser to Gov. Bill Richardson, also serves on the board of the regional policy organization Western Progress. E-mail: inthewest@comcast.net
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